


Dragons and Destiny

by SneakyHufflepuff



Category: Disney Princesses, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-15
Updated: 2014-02-15
Packaged: 2018-01-12 10:32:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1185227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SneakyHufflepuff/pseuds/SneakyHufflepuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short ficbit I wrote for a gift exchange. This is terrible, for which I apologize, but Happy Valentine's Day anyway!</p>
<p>Mushu comes back for a day to help Mulan find her destiny.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dragons and Destiny

“Mulan!” 

Mushu’s voice filtered through her consciousness. She bolted upright, the sheets over her sleeping bag falling from her body. Mushu was sitting at the end of the bag, with the grin she remembered so well. She blinked, trying to clear the remnants of her dream from her mind. 

“Surprised to see me?” Mushu said, failing to disappear as she woke up completely.

“Mushu?” Mulan couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Here and better than ever.” He posed, emphasizing his tiny muscles, which were possibly less tiny than the last time she had seen him.

“What are you doing here?” Mulan asked, bewildered and happy. She thought the dragon had died in the destruction of the Queen’s curse, along with the rest of her friends and family. 

Mushu looked like he was going to answer, then threw himself at her in a hug, and she returned it, the tiny dragon warm in her arms. The dawn light lit up his scales and for the first time since she had left Aurora, she was truly happy.

“I’m glad you’re alive, my friend,” Mulan said.

“I’m not alive, actually,” Mushu confessed. “I have until the sun sets and then it’s back to paradise for Mushu.”

“Oh.” She should have known better.

“Turn that frown upside down! You’ve got a mission!” 

Mushu’s excitement didn’t quite mask his sadness, but the irrepressible dragon was trying for her sake, so she would do her best to try as well.

“We have a mission?” Mulan was truly excited. Robin Hood’s band was not as active as she had hoped, and she missed her traveling life of adventure. Being with Mushu, even if she only had a day, was a dream come true.

“ _You_ have a mission. Pack up your horse and let’s go. We need to go to Aurora and Phillip’s castle, I’ll tell you the rest once we’re on the road.” 

Mushu walked away, twirling his tail, towards the horses.

Mulan began to pack as Mushu tried to climb onto Blossom, a chestnut destrier.

“Mushu, that’s not my horse.” Mulan hid her laugh behind a hand.

“Oops.” 

Mushu fell off the back of Blossom, Robin’s horse, which woke up the rest of the band, which lead to long minutes of explanation before Mulan and Mushu could start their journey.

***

“Is Aurora in danger?” Mulan’s brow furrowed at the thought of the woman she loved being put in harm's way.

“No, you are. Why do you think I got special dispensation to come down here? The ancestors don’t move heaven and earth for just anyone,” Mushu answered, a little too quickly.

“Mushu, just tell me what’s going on.” In her time in the Enchanted Forest, Mulan had forgotten the little patience her mother had managed to teach her.

“The Evil Queen’s curse messed with your destiny. You need to put it back on the right track.”

Mulan remembered Mushu enough to know when he was being intentionally evasive.

“Mushu!”

“You need to find your true love and have a child to pass on the family line,” Mushu explained. “It’s my job to help you find him.”

Mulan felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. How was she going to explain to Mushu that she never wanted to be with a man? 

“According to the ancestors, your true love is at the castle. We’ll find him and be finished in time for dinner. Man, I miss food, maybe we can get them to cook up a feast.” Mushu prattled on, obviously filled with confidence.

They reached the castle just before noon, and the guards opened the gates as soon as they recognized Mulan, with barely a glance at Mushu. In the Enchanted Forest a tiny dragon was hardly strange. Still, she made a mental note to improve the security before she left. In the Enchanted Forest, shape-shifters and magical mind control devices were hardly strange either.

“Mulan!” Aurora rushed out of the main doors of the castle, the swell of her pregnancy evident underneath her flowing blue dress. 

She was beautiful, as always, and Mulan’s heart beat faster as their eyes met. Mulan swung off her horse hurriedly to break the gaze, her red cape swirling behind her.

“Aurora, my liege. This is my companion, Mushu.” Mulan bowed then gestured to the dragon.

“Excuse you?” Mushu said from the saddle of the horse. “The _Great and Powerful_ Mushu.” He bowed, then winked at Aurora.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, the Great and Powerful Mushu,” Aurora said with a smile, her eyes finding Mulan’s again in shared laughter.

“Mushu, this is Aurora, a dear friend,” Mulan said, knowing how inadequate that description was. 

Phillip arrived in the courtyard from the direction of the archery range, a bow in his hands. “I thought you were with Robin Hood’s band,” he said. 

“I have returned on a quest, assigned to me by my ancestors. With luck, I shall be gone by the ‘morrow,” Mulan replied. Maybe her true love was at the castle, and had nothing to do with Aurora.

The long companionship between Mulan and Phillip should have made things less awkward between them, but their easy friendship had been replaced by something else. Could Phillip know of her love for Aurora? Was she giving herself away with every guilty glance?

“I’m sure you can stay longer than that,” Aurora exclaimed.

“We’d love for you to stay, Aurora can get a room ready.” Phillip subtly positioned himself between Mulan and Aurora.

“Why don’t you get a room ready yourself?” Mushu demanded, obviously taking a dislike to Phillip.

“Phillip, this is Mushu. He is here to aid me on my mission.”

“Welcome, Mushu. I must return to my duties. I bid you goodbye.”

Aurora looked at Phillip in surprise, picking up on his hostility. 

“I’ll take you to one of the guest rooms,” Aurora said, beckoning Mulan inside the castle. "I'm sorry about Phillip, I think he is nervous about the baby."

Mulan accepted the apology with a nod, silent. Two minutes here and things had already gotten incredibly awkward. This was why she had left.

***

“You’re in love with the girl!” Mushu said, as soon as the door closed behind him and Mulan.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mulan lied.

“This is a disaster. The ancestors are never going to forgive me,” Mushu said, pacing the luxurious rug in front of the fireplace.

Mulan sat down on the bed, hard. “Yes, they’ll never forgive _you_.”

Mushu looked at the sky outside. “We still have five hours. That’s plenty of time for you to find a stable-boy.”

“I don’t want a stable-boy, Mushu.” Mulan knew she should be sad or angry, but all she felt was numb.

Mushu looked at her, uncharacteristically silent for a moment.

“Then let’s get you the girl,” he said, finally.

“What about Phillip?” Mulan asked. She knew she had a duty to her friend, even if he had been cold this morning.

“Screw that guy. You have a destiny to fulfill. Also he smelled funny.”

“Funny?” Mulan asked. Phillip had seemed strange.

“Yeah, like a walking corpse or something,” Mushu said, obviously not thinking. “The guy can’t take a bath?”

Mulan trusted her instincts, and something was very wrong. She grabbed her sword and set off to find Phillip.


End file.
